Strength
by Maiokoe
Summary: It wasn't the first time he wished to talk to her about how crazy his life was. As air-headed as she was, he loved his mother and she would listen without interrupting. Not for the first time, he wondered if she truly was as oblivious as they all thought her to be. And not for the first time, he wondered if his mother truly was the strongest person he knew


A/N: KHR! does not belong to me, nor do I claim it does.

 _It feels really nice to write for KHR! again~!_

* * *

He never understood his mother.

How could she just smile and laugh as Lambo blew up the living room? Or the kitchen? Or his room?

No, she only reacted when the five-year-old accidently blew up her 'Welcome Home Iemitsu!' dinner.

Truly, no one knew the meaning of quiet fury until that very moment.

Of-course, she would never _yell_ at Lambo, she loved the children too much. (Honestly, he was surprised they hadn't adopted them yet, but, for all intents and purposes, they had) The scariest look passed over her face for only a second before she pasted on a sad, disappointed smile, crouched down, poked Lambo's nose, and quietly asked him to go play outside with Fuuta and I-Pin.

Lambo had tears welling up in his eyes and was about to launch himself at Nana before Bianchi scooped him up and carried him outside, the kids following after her, the other two looking back at Nana, unsure what to make of the situation. Any other time Lambo would mess something up, she would cuddle and soothe, assuring him it was alright.

But not this time apparently. She'd been working all day, preparing for Iemitsu's return, and now all that work(and food and money) was wasted.

"M-mom?" Tsuna started hesitantly. The kids, Bianchi, and Reborn had missed that look, but he hadn't. It's possible he was the only one who caught it, his friends too busy blinking at the mess of a feast.

"Ah? Yes, Tsu-kun~?" She tilted her head to the side, the light and happy look back on her face. But he knew something was up.

"Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto?" The both looked over at him. "Could you… could you give us a minute?" Gokudera looked stricken that he was being kicked out—if even for a moment—but steeled himself and nodded.

"Of-course, Tenth! Come on, Baseball Idiot!" Gokudera led the way to the yard, where he would probably blame Lambo for the mess(rightly so) and attempt to strangle him again. Yamamoto tilted his own head, gazing at the Sawadas for a moment before nodding and following the silverette.

Tsuna gazed back at his mother, who had begun cleaning up the mess. It wasn't the first time he wished to talk to her about how crazy his life was. As air-headed as she was, he loved his mother and she would listen without interrupting.

But he realized the danger he would put her in and he would move both Heaven and Hell before he let something happen to the only parents he had(Iemitsu essentially left them with 'Tell him I've become a star' and while Nana thought it was romantic, Tsuna had cried for a week when he thought his dad had died).

Also, not for the first time, he wondered if she truly was as oblivious as they all thought her to be. Surely she knew by now that Lambo's "firecrackers" were really grenades. And Gokudera's "sparklers" were dynamite. Not even his mother could be that delusional to think his four cracked ribs and broken wrist were from a camping accident.

Alright, that was possible, he'll admit that, but he was the only one injured? Everyone else got out scot-free?

Ah. Right. Reborn had claimed he was clumsy. And his mother bought it.

But every other injury he got from training? Sparring? Life-or-death fights? Seriously? She honestly believed he 'tripped' every other day and came out with a sprained wrist or ankle? A fractured rib? Bandages covering half his torso?

"Tsu-kun? Is everything alright?"

But right now wasn't about him. It was about his mom. "Here, let me help, Mom."

"Oh, you don't have to, Tsu-kun. Go play with your friends and wait for Papa to come home!" Tsuna gazed back at her, wondering why she was pretending to be so happy when it was just the two of them. She tilted her head again—a motion Kyoko often used—and he found he was starting to get annoyed.

Annoyed? With his simple, but loving, mother? Yes.

"Mom, it's alright to be upset you know," he started quietly.

She waved a hand, laughing a bit. "Oh, it's alright! Lambo was just playing, he didn't mean anything by it!" Tsuna gazed back at her and her smile dimmed. "Really, it's okay. Don't be too mad at him, Tsu-kun, I can—"

"You worked really hard to make dinner. You've been cooking all day. And Lambo just ruined it. It's alright to be upset Mom. Emotions are a part of us and it's not wrong to feel angry."

" _There there, Tsu-kun! It's alright to be upset! Everyone feels angry at some point, it's an emotion, just like being happy. The thing is to not hold onto it, huh? It's a part of you, but if you choose to hold onto it, you won't be very happy, now will you?"_

Yes. He remembered her words.

Nana bowed her head, smile completely dropping as she took in a heavy breath.

That was his mother. She was always smiling and she didn't hold onto her anger. It wasn't that she never felt it, she just chose to let it go upon feeling that dark emotion beginning to stir. Being angry, she often demonstrated, never helped anything. It just made it worse.

"Mom? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Tsu-kun… I did work hard, didn't I…?" She raised her head, eyes watery but a small smile on her lips. "Well, it's the thought that counts, right?" he nodded, making sure to go into detail about how hard his mother worked when his father finally came home. He'd also be sure to blame Lambo for the feast's destruction. "Well," she looked around, surveying her kitchen. "Best get to work then, right? I guess this'll teach me not to go overboard, hmm~?" Her smile brightened and she laughed a little, rolling up her sleeves and squaring her shoulders. "Right then!"

He watched as she dove right back in, chopping and cutting at a furious pace, humming to herself as she swayed.

And not for the first time, he wondered if his mother truly was the strongest person he knew.

* * *

Ah! It's been so long since I wrote for KHR! I have all sorts of story ideas, but I feel like my characterizations will be a bit off, so, I suppose if I want to ever start writing them, I should watch it again, yeah? This will make it my… fourth time? And I would reread the manga again, just to get everything after the anime ends. Hmm, seems like a lot, but… I like to be accurate.


End file.
